Reflection(In alphabetical order by last name)

Aaron Greiner

Working on Kinnect has been an incredibly rewarding process for me. Not only was I able to help create a polished final product that I am incredibly proud of, but I also made something that will have an impact at Olin. Starting out on the project, I knew that achieving a high level of finish would be difficult, but the last ten percent brought up numerous challenges that I had never anticipated. I learned a lot about how to design for longevity and simplicity. One of the aspects that I am most proud of is that the project will actually continue to be used after the class ends. I am so proud of what we have accomplished, and I cannot wait to share it the rest of the Olin community.

Giulia Klein

Being one of the lead mechanical engineers on this team I did not expect this sculpture to be very difficult to construct, however, having little prior experience building something like this, making it efficient and appealing was a difficult place to reach due to our lack of knowledge on the proper materials to use.​Overall I believe that we managed to work together and pull through by playing of of each others ideas and just going for it and fixing it when something wasn't quite right.

Cecile Lacoste

Getting involved in the kinnect project was the most challenging and rewarding experience in my Olin semester.Being part of the mechanical team, I started the project confident because of my background in designing rotary components. In my home school, I learnt basic theory of gear dimensioning and CAD. I did not have the chance to hand make the theoretical results. During this project, I realized the difficulties of building a functional sculpture and operating tweaks in the good way. I had a great time working with this creative and enthusiastic team and sharing our ideas to push the kinnect project forward for a satisfying accomplishment.

Wannes Vanheusden

As the person in charge of the software part, I felt very motivated to bring this project to a good end. Since my major is electromechanical engineering, I did not have a lot of prior coding experience. But I saw this as a learning opportunity to improve my software skills and to not give up when things seem bizarre and difficult . I believe we can definitely be happy with what we achieved in the end. I had a great time working working with a diverse group of people that each brought their own expertise and smarts to the table. ​

Xi Xi

In general, I feel like I have learned a lot from this class! This is my first class at Olin, and I must admit that I am not familiar with everything. I have had some experience with Arduino and mechanical components at Wellesley, but I wouldn't say I'm an expert. However, I'm glad that I was able to work on a project integrating mechanical, electrical, and software components and to see everything come together. I have learned (again) that theory and reality may not always match (which, shamefully, still surprises me at times as a Theoretical Math major). Nonetheless, I was glad that we did not give up when we accidentally drilled the wrong hole, made mistakes with measurements, etc. To me, it is almost more amazing to find ways to overcome these difficulties and also accept that things will not always be perfect. I'm very grateful for my teammates who are incredibly hard-working but also a lot of fun to work with. :)